“Happy and successful cooking doesn't rely only on know-how; it comes from the heart, makes great demands on the palate and needs enthusiasm and a deep love of food to bring it to life.”
- Georges Blanc, Ma Cuisine des Saisons!

May 23, 2008

I will be linking my Gobi Aloo Tamatar Masala to "fortune Cooking" event going at Nithu and Shriya's "Spicy Tasty" blog. We are supposed to choose one Zodiac sign and cook with veggies it's compatible with. I chose "Cancer sign with Cauliflower" for this, enjoy hosting girls!:)

Sangeeth from "Art of cooking Indian food" blog has launched a new event called "Eat Healthy..Fiber Rich",and asks us to cook something fiber rich this month. Here is my Gobi AlooTamatar masala full of fiber and Zodiac friendly too, enjoy hosting Sangeeth!:)Celebrating the Zodiac sign (Cancer) of our Bichon Frisé , A.J.!! :DBichon Frisé , in French literally means a "curly lap dog". Our pet AJ (short for Arvind Junior!:D) is a mix of Bichon Frise and a Poodle but he does have 98% Bichon characteristics in him than a Poodle! His birthday is in June and he will be 10years old this month, 70yrs old in dog years!:D Small dogs of his size live about 12 0r 13yrs. So I thought why not give him some attention in my blog too. He loves to snuggle on that Bean bag every night! Happy birthday old man! :DNO! He won't eat this Gobi masala, gets his own Salmon and brown rice canned doggie food, which is his favorite dish! His food sounds better than our's, don't you think? Hahaha!!More info about this breed of dogs are here and here.

Fiber rich Cauliflower:This is what Whole foods website says about Cauliflower,"Filling, high in fiber, and low in calories, Cauliflower is a great food for reducing your waistline, says Dr. Barry Sears in his book The Top 100 Zone Foods. Weighing in at only 25 calories, a cup of florets contains 100% of the recommended daily allowance (RDA) for vitamin C, one-third of the RDA for folate, and a nice serving of potassium and vitamin B6. These nutrients all work to protect your heart. Cauliflower also contains bioflavonoids, indoles, and other chemicals that protect against cancer. To retain the flavor of cauliflower and minimize nutrient loss, cook it rapidly by boiling or steaming. Overcooking cauliflower diminishes the nutrients significantly."Food writer Mark Bittman quoted a Cornell University study, stating that 100 grams of cauliflower had 55 mg of vitamin C after boiling, 70 after steaming, and 82 after being cooked in the microwave oven.For more info about the benefits of fiber, check out here.

Fiber contents of Aloo-Gobi-Tamatar: 1 medium baked potato with skin has 3.8 gms of fiber and 1 cup of Cauliflower has 3.35 gms of fiber, 1 small onion has 1gm of fiber and 1 Tomato has 1.4gms of fiber!

Gobi Aloo Tamatar masala:The title literally means Cauliflower, Potato, Tomato in spices, you can make this with or without sauce. You can add any veggies like green peas and cooked beans to this recipe. Just make sure that you don't cook the veggies to death which leaves the dish without any nutrition! :)

To make the masala:1. Cut the flowerettes and bake them on a sheet in a single layer at 450F oven for 20 mins or spray some oil on top and Microwave them for 3-5mins or until you see reddish spots on top.2. Heat oil in a non-stick pan, add Cumin seeds, chopped onion and fry until reddish. Add ginger, stir and then cubed Potato, a tbsp of water, cover and cook for 2 minutes. If potato is cooked before in the MW, it's even easier!3. Put in all the dry spices like turmeric, Tomato sauce or Tomato pieces. Cook for 1 minute or until oil shows.4. Now add all the almost cooked Cauliflower, salt, add about 2tbsp or more water, stir fry until almost dry, unless you want some sauce. In that case, add more water or veg stock to it.5. Garnish with cilantro and lime juice.

Serve with whole wheat rotis for even more fiber kick or serve on a bed of cooked Quinoa, you will be in nutrition Heaven! :D

Another look!

Have a great weekend, see you all next week!

Last minute addition about Fiber: I found a great article about the benefits of Fiber at this diet website. Take a look, it's a lot of info! Good to know all these too! :)

*****************************************************************************************************Anupama of "Food and More" is hosting a Sandwich Festival 2008! this month. Last time I somehow missed the deadline for her event and this time I almost did it again until I saw sandwiches flying in every blog this week. I am sending my delicious Muffuletta to her, thanks for hosting Anupama! :)

What's a Sandwich and why we we call it so?A sandwich, essentially is a "grab and go" food made of two or more slices of bread with one or more layers of filling such as meat, cheese, vegetables, salads or ever popular peanut butter and jelly!

WIKI says, ""The first recorded sandwich was by the famous rabbi, Hillel the Elder, who lived during the 1st century B.C. He started the Passover custom of sandwiching a mixture of chopped nuts, apples, spices, and wine between two matzohs to eat with bitter herbs."

"In 1765, John Montague's biographer, N. A. M. Rodger, points out in his book, The Insatiable Earl -A Life of John Montagu,4th Earl of Sandwich, that the sole source for giving Montague credit for the invention of the sandwich, was gossip mentioned in a travel book by Grosley, and that at the period in question 1765, he was known to be very busy, and it is just as likely that it was for the purpose of eating at his desk."

"In 1840, the sandwich was introduced to America by Englishwoman Elizabeth Leslie, (1787-1858). In her cookbook, Directions for Cookery, she has a recipe for ham sandwiches that she suggested as a main dish!"

New Orleans style Muffuletta sandwich with Olive salad:

Here are the recipes I have already posted at Foodie's Hope few weeks ago and reposted here for "Sandwich Festival 2008!" Hope you try it! :)

F, so great to see you girl. How are you? I bet you are enjoying your sister's visit. Have fun. Yeah, he is a old man, thought I will give him a 15mins fame too!:DEnjoy the weekend, see you later.Hugs:)

I will Cham!:) Dogs get nice snacks too, but can't feed the cake or chocolate, not good for them. Since he is old, got to soft, digestible doggie food!:)

asha!!this is one of the things i hate when i browse thru other blogs-the fact that i cant have these delcious dishes unless i make it..have to satisfy myself just looking at it:(...how i wish i could just grab it from the comp:)...great entries..

Look at AJ! He is so cute :-) I had to laugh that he is named "Arvind junior" (hilarious). Whew, how do you rememerber all these events. Loved your gobi masala ( even though AJ does not). The picture is beautiful too.

Jaya, isn't that great to know humble Gobi has so many good things? I didn't know that before!!:)

HeHe! Thanks sra, I will make sure AJ will enjoy the day!:)Yeah, who knew Alu and Gobi has so nutritious! That dish is for making Quishe or creme Brulee etc, it's cute!:))

Hi DB, I am learning new way to use MW because of these events. Spray little oil on Gobi, spread to thin layer in batches and cook on high on MW just until they get some color, cooked 3/4 way. Cooking too much will make them dry and tasteless!:)

HeHe! He is a cute old man RC!:))I saw other blogs with lot of sandwiches, so thought I repost mine too. Aloo Gobi, I always love, yummy!:)Did you see the sour dough Naan at Fh? Easy to make, hope you try. Arvind is on call this weekend, so taking kids out myself and enjoy but he is free on Monday! Have a fun 3 day weekend!:))

Hi Asha...U are really great... U r posting so many recipe so fast. Great job!... Gobi Aloo looks YUM!. I would like to have it with rotis.... I have mufulette sandwich once long back, but never thought of making it at home. Nice try dear. Love it. so colorfulllll...

Sukanya, I posted a dish for every event there is this month!:DI think I will slow down a bit from now on or atleast I will try! HeHe!

Bee, I am so happy! A very happy birthday to you in advance. Hugs!:)Yeah, he is the great wanderer! He has a slight jaw defect, so he can't smell like other dogs to come back home sniffing. He keeps on walking until somebody finds him, we have to watch his every move once he is outside now!:DHave a fun 3 day long weekend.

HeHe! Purnima, I cook everyday for 4 people anyway. For a event, I just choose the ingredients and make a dish. Next day, it will be gone!:DSometimes, I cook particularly for a event like Jackfruit dishes for which I have to go shop in the Asian stores. Besides, cooking is relaxes me. I like the instant results! Have a great weekend. Arvind is on call this weekend but free tomorrow, waiting to watch Indy flick!:)

J, that's true! I was surprised and happy to know that we save some nutrition too while cooking super fast in the MW! Saves plenty of time than cooking for 1 hr in the oven! Some people don't use MW at all,scared of it too!:D

LOL! I know Susan. That Muffuletta feeds a family 6-8 easily! That HUGE in New Orleans!!:DAloo Gobi is every Indian's fave dish, easy ans healthy too!:)

Vani, I grew up with German Shepherds all my life, we are dog people!:D We had a Labrador here and now AJ. He is adorable little dog although I prefer big dogs, kids wanted this little lap dog!Yeah, he is getting old!:)Your profile photo is so cute!! M is growing up so fast!

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